Summer Days in Oban
With all that rain and too warm wind these days, some sunny pics should brighten the spirits. And I found the sun where rumour has it you can seldom find it: in Scotland, back in June. The first photos show the view from my room in the B&B in Oban.

View from my room in Oban
It was one of those small family run B&Bs in an old Victorian house, with the tiniest sink I ever had (I assume the bathroom was added to the room at a later time). The atmosphere was very nice, and the view from my room spectacular. Got some yummy breakfast, too. The neighbouring house had a pub - nothing better than a cool ale after a day out.

View from my room; zoom in to Kerrera
Oban (meaning 'little bay' in Gaelic) lies at the centre of a bay that is protected from the worst Atlantic storms by the islands of Kerrera, Lismore, and Mull, as well as the granite mountains of the Morvern peninsula. A situation that today makes Oban the 'gateway to the Hebrides' because of its large ferry harbour.

View from my room; a different angle (with the mountains of Morvern in the background)
Oban, the inofficial capital of the West Highlands, has a resident population of 8.500, but during summer it can be crowded by up to 25.000 people. Makes me want to go back in winter. The town has been a popular holiday destination since Queen Victoria called Oban, 'one of the finest spots we have ever seen.' The scenery of the town and the Inner Hebridean islands - esp. Staffa - gave inspiration to a number of artists.

My B&B seen from the Mull ferry
One of the many things I love about the Scottish Highlands are the white nights of summer where you can sit outside past midnight and it's still not dark. The pub I mentioned had seats outside from where you could enjoy the summer twilight on the water.

Oban with McCaig's Tower, seen from the Mull ferry
McCaig's Tower, better known as McCaig's Folly, is a building that looks a bit like the Colosseum in Rome that inspired it. It was commissioned by John Sturart McCaig, a rich banker in 1897, for the purpose of giving the masons of the area work during the winter months, and also as a lasting monument to his family. It has two tiers of lancet arches and a circumference of 200 metres. A museum and other additions were planned but never built after McCaig's death in 1902.

The hillside of Oban, seen from the harbour
Oban was a small fishing village until in Victorian times a steamer linked to it from Glasgow, and the upper classes started building houses there to spend a few summer weeks away from London. Can't blame them; Oban has developed into a pretty town with a number of nice walks, fe. along the Esplanade at the seaside.

A blind passenger on the Mull ferry
Here's another of my gull shots. I never could resist a chance when one of them sat still long enough - which didn't happen often.

Another aspect I love about Scotland is the sky. It's never boring and displays some of the most fascinating cloud formations I've seen. Just look at the photos for some of them, lol.

Oban Bay in the evening sun
This is another shot taken from the B&B room. I love it when the sun sparkles on water - more pretty than diamonds.

Oban Bay at night
Taken outside the pub near the B&B. I just stood there and enjoyed the view for a while.

Oban Bay, late evening
And there was that moment when the light turned into those lovely sepia tones, like on an old photography.

A detail shot taken in Oban harbour
A picture from the harbour, with the riggings of a sailing boat in the foreground. And a few of those Scottish clouds.

One of the island ferries
This was a bit earlier, when the late ferry from Coll and Tiree came in. Caledonian MacBrayne operates most of the services to the Hebridean isles.

Sunset
This one was taken through the window of the restaurant where I had a late dinner. I caught the moment the sun went down in all its golden glory.

After sunset
The same view taken outside about an hour later. It didn't get fully dark even at 1 am.

White nights in Oban
The (almost) white nights reminded me of the time I lived in Stockholm where the light could be beautiful as well in summer.

Sunset in Oban
The landscape of the Highlands is breathtakingly beautiful. The mountains, the water, that incredible, ever changing light .... I could go on forever.  ¶ November 29, 2009